Kategorie: Reisebloggen (alle Beiträge) (Seite 26 von 39)

Dresden is beautiful! So many ornate and old buildings, many open to the public or as museums. We took a walk about and then a tour bus on our first day. (And of course, per usual, we found genuine Italian Ice cream, a near daily ritual while traveling. For those who don’t know, genuine Italian Ice cream blows regular ice cream out of the water. It is lighter, way more inventive with flavors (for example cucumber mojito !?!) and always tastes clean and delicious – well worth the extra ’spare tire‘.) Our hosts took us one evening to the alternative side of Dresden, where we saw this giraffe facade. It was only one of many creative building facades in the area.

On a side note, Elke & I discussed ‚alternative‘ city areas in general. So far, they all seem similar, despite the country of origin. They remind me of a section of Philadelphia where there are students, art, small shops, especially coffee cafes, and a little bit funky or dissident too. Maybe this is due to the general age/generation of the consumers and residents or to first-world middle class tastes. I do not know if it the same in China (but I suspect so due to the rise of consumerism there) or in the Middle East, where cultures differ quite from Europe/America’s. I welcome more commentary on this topic.

THE BASTEI – in short, worth experiencing one of thee most touristy places in East Germany. The geological features in this area are all around with the Elbe river on one side and leading through the nearby Czech border. We survived the climb to the top of the Bastei, nearly. For me, it went from difficult to stressful to a tortuous experience! Physically my body was not prepared and as little ol‘ ladies raced by me, I felt ‚being alive‘ was not enough anymore (LOL). (Note: little ol‘ ladies in Germany are quite fit and saunter by on bikes or with walking poles and sensible shoes well into their older years. It is common to see them and they come in all shapes and sizes, some appearing less fit than you would believe capable.)

Elke was patient, kind and helped with the occasional „E-power“ push. (Elke often has to assist me while cycling. She pushes me up hills, hence „E-power“ or in German „Eenergie“. It is the best human E-bike!) Gong down, her knees mutinied. My arm helped stabilize descent. Thus „Menergie“ or „M-power“. However, that days climb caused a chain reaction that lead to my walking demise a few days later.

As for the Bastei’s beauty, it was unique. (There are many perfect pictures on the internet.) The day was hot and clear and the view far and wide. The River Elbe far below on one side and ancient rock formations on the other. A stone bridge leads to a resort on the top and it is one of many such places in this area. While I was able to navigate comfortably among the hordes of visitors, I generally avoid such places. Being outside, my immune system was quite safe. Sanity, on the other hand, was not. We did find out from a taxi driver that there was very few tourists that day. (Mano! OMG!) Our feet/legs were so toasted that we used the taxi van to return to the parking lot, about a kilometers walks from the town.

For me, one of the greatest thing about Anjte & Tom’s residence, was Eddie and Frida. Eddie was a street dog when a puppy and has never lost his scavenging habits. Being blind only makes his senses of hearing and smell that much stronger. Antje not only permits hand feeding but 1/3 of his daily diet consist of table scraps. (1/3 dog food, 1/3 human food, 1/3 scavenging or ’sidewalk cleaning‘ dog style.) He makes the best pot scrubber ever! Even Frida gets in on the act of the morning oatmeal offering. (But he nudges her out if she is too slow.)

Weimar, while another beautiful city in East Germany, was disappointing. But only because we were counting on the Bauhaus Museum! Unbeknownst to us, not only was it closed, it was gone. Reopening in a new location next year, we have something unique to look forward to.

Buchenwald blew my mind. I know quite a bit about the Nazi Concentration camps, or so I thought. I live in an area where our local theater supports art films. New and creative stories related to WWII and the Jewish plight is quite common. (My first neighbor had the prison tattoo.) But I was not aware of the how extreme the Nazi’s treatment of the camp prisoners was. Believers were trained and assigned in areas directly opposite of their skills, solely to create more chaos and suffering. After experiencing the exhibits (which are tastefully and respectively done and very, very clever) and walking the main property, I left feeling moved, tearful and aware of how fine the line is between belief and reality. Fear controls humanity in so many ways. While I have many seemingly small remaining fears, fear of death is not one of them. Fear of pain, however … much cruelty rides on that wave.

To ride onto another wave we decided to go to Erfurt again – for icecream. And a nice walk through town.

Near Antjes & Thomas´ residence, Burg Tannroda, is a field of wild poppies. Evidently this is a very good year for poppies (very hot and dry spring). We saw many fields but none as spectacular as this one.

One day trip was to Nationalpark Hainich, and it’s Treetops Park. Within the elevated board walk are sections of rope paths. While designed for children, we managed to maneuver ungracefully through the various potentially strangling obstacles. It made reaching the apex all the more rewarding. After a loud yell in Höhni’s direction, the heat of the day sent us back down to the cool forest floor. Elke found great humor in my ‚lower pocket‘ info packet.

Not liking to remain ’squished insects‘ we pitched our tent. Many spots were found to be wanting, mostly the hourly dust cloud from the daily renovations or native ground rocks. The final spot was next to the ‚Turm‘ (tower). The property itself has an interesting history and while one may think of castles as large and showy, that is not always the case. This one does have a working tower, which the town (the previous owner of the property) has kept in good working condition. The other functioning building houses a local, renowned basket museum. Although Antje & Tom have renovated apartments for themselves and a tenant, there is a great deal (that is an understatement) left to do before their dream is realized.

But our main sleeping difficulty lay with the surrounding sounds. Only 3 weeks away from the summer solstice, the sun rises early and set quite late in Germany. (Sunrise 5 am, sunset 9:45 pm.) Combine that with the adjacent church and you can have only, at most, 5 hours of quiet per night. „Zwitschern“ (bird song or bird singing) starts quite early, about the same time as the local train – 4 am. (Of course, there is also a local RR crossing and it’s strong, artificial alarm.) At 5, the church announces every hour and least one forgets, every 15 minutes, with a corresponding chime. By 11 pm, one either has gone mad („Verrückt!) or numb to dinging tones. Our 3 nights stay was not long enough to immune us to Castle Tannroda’s cacophony.

We are back from our week long trip. It was looong, fun and full of small adventures, both annoying and funny.

First day leaving Hannover we visited a natural park known as The Harz. It is mountainous and similar to the Black Forrest of southern Germany. The tallest mountain, Brocken, is reachable by foot or by narrow-guage rail car, pulled by a smelly, old-fashioned steam engine. Very cool (very touristy) and worth pursuing. We ran/walked/crawled up a steep road to make the train. Unfortunately the signs indicating a mere „10 minutes“ walk from the parking lot was for meant for Nordic marathon runners. We sadly heard the warning whistle and then the sound of the engine pulling away from the station. (Smelt it too … yuck.) Many emotions flooded through us. The additional hours wait for the next train, compiled with leaving my so-called disability information back in Hannover, cinched the deal to walk back down the hill. (In Germany, many tourists attractions offer reduced rates for the disabled, some as low as free.) That, the cloudy weather and the high cost of the tickets made for plan B – find a bathroom and then ride the alpine coaster.

There are many things to do and see in the Harz. One of them is the longest of its type, suspension foot bridge. It is a bit unnerving to be that high up and swinging a bit. Elke found the only time without out throngs of tourists squeezing by for these pix. Underneath is a bungee swing (no way!) and a tandem zip line. Next time that zip line is ours! (… Or for at least one ride.) Pretty geil (meaning sexy cool in hip german) to watching people fly down via the zip-line to the other side of the dam.

Somewhere along the way we chanced upon a stave church. They are usually ornate and extremely old and rather rare, originated in Norway. This one was a more recent remake, perhaps 19th century. While beautiful, it was fairly dilapidated and going to be relocated and hopefully, renovated.

That evening we arrived at Antjes & Thomas´ dream residence – Castle Tannroda (www.burg-tannroda.de) close to Erfurt.  Had dinner in Erfurt, walked the famous „Krämerbrücke“. First night, we slept in Anke’s car, side by side, snug as a bug in a rug. And never again – squished bugs!

Ahhh, Berlin. Nice town. Here we are at the Wall, a saturday only asian food street market, hanging out with Mirjam, watching a Tango dance, at one of the large Holocaust Memorials (the peg block thingies), tying out a seasonal alcoholic drink (rather delicious). We did a lot of walking and public transportation riding those 3 days.

What do we find we when come up from the U-Bahn station at Check Point Charlie? Why Vulvas of course! One note said: „Viva la Vulva! The Vulva is dead. Long live the Vulva!“. Had to, just had to, have a picture of that…

A different part of the wall. It is near Check Point Charlie and left plain. Rather moving to read about it and see it in person.

Of course the Tor of Brandenburg. Supposedly the most touristy thing to see but also the heart of Berlin. Many Berliners told us to go see it. There was a demonstration there for equal rights and pay or somesuch, when we arrived. Hundreds of moms and dads and babies and small children. Very impressive. The next day was the Neo Nazi demonstration and the people who came out to protest against the protesters. That one we were nearby and it was quite a hulallaboo. You can read about it on the internet. We did witness the just before or just after event (mentioned on the news) at one of the S-bahn stations between these people and the police. Very aggressive energy and a bit frightening. Riding in the train with them was a tense moment. Berlin police show of force – wow! Also a bit frightening but very very organized and respectful. I was impressed!

The Reichstag – Deutscher Bundestag. Having a card that says disabled is very useful in Europe. (I use my Metro-North card.) Many places offer a reduced admission. Or faster access. Such was the case for getting in to the Reichstagsgebäude. The „Kuppel“ (dome). It sits on top of the main seat of government building for Germany and getting in can take hours! (Security screening – metal detectors, pat down and background check.) Spectacular piece of architecture and fun to see the whole city, as well as the fun-house effect inside.

One experiences (or at least I did) being put into a different perspective when experiencing the The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial). One’s reference to the outside streets drops away and you are left with only these straight lines of sight that waver up and down, both on the ground and in height. Unique.